What made you initially decide to join Entry Point North?

I was curious about the business and to join a company of Entry Point North's size. Having previously been with larger corporations and enterprises, it intrigued me to be part of a company where I would be able to make a bigger impact. I met with different people during the recruitment process and perceived Entry Point North  as a place of open and direct communication with a warm and respectful approach. To me, that combination was unusual and very positive.

Tell us about what you do as a Chief Information Officer (CIO).

I am, along with the team, responsible for everything concerning IT. Here at Entry Point North, the CIO role is not only about making sure we deliver IT services according to business needs, it is also about building the IT environment from scratch to support the whole company. The most exciting thing about my job is the possibility of influencing the way our company grows and develops with the help of technology. We are making sure Entry Point North is geared for future growth. Part of my job is also making sure the business is ready for that change.

What do you and the IT team have in store for the near future?

Our big focus will be to build a new IT environment almost from the ground up. It will be cloud- and service-based and, in our company, a whole new way of delivering IT. As a result, we will expand the team and hire new colleagues. So if you are into IT, we have exciting times ahead of us where you can be part of that journey and be able impact the technology from early days.

How would you describe the team atmosphere?

We are all different and everyone is accepted and accepting. I believe it makes us all feel comfortable. Everyone in the team works hard and collaborates with each other to achieve results. Although we have not been able to meet as frequently as we would like due to the covid-19 situation, we get together at least once a week to catch up with each other. One of my most important leadership values is to have fun at work. I believe we all need to feel good and happy about ourselves, in order to achieve good results at work.

What are you most proud of during your time at Entry Point North?

When covid-19 hit, we needed to adapt fast in order to make sure we could deliver our services in a smooth way. The whole team stepped up and within a few days we made sure the right people had the tools and technology to deliver training to our students in a modified way. We offered virtual classrooms as an alternative to physical ones and this is now part of our general business offerings.

Which of our core values is your favourite?

I believe BRAVE is a signal to all our employees that they can speak their mind. I try to practice BRAVE daily by stretching myself in being open and straight-forward with my ideas and opinions. I believe the culture at Entry Point North really allows this value to be lived in the sense that your opinion is respected and welcomed.

Tell us something your colleagues might not know about you.

I have a strong creative side that needs to be tended to. For many years I did silversmithing but I have done everything from concrete casting, gardening and now I am into kombucha brewing. I love to create stuff in different shapes and have found it is a valuable stress releaser for me.